paralysis
noun
pa·ral·y·sis pə-ˈra-lə-səs 
plural paralyses pə-ˈra-lə-ˌsēz
1
: complete or partial loss of function especially when involving the motion or sensation in a part of the body
2
: loss of the ability to move
3
: a state of powerlessness or incapacity to act
Synonyms
- palsy
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The disease causes a paralysis of the legs. The whole country is in a state of paralysis. They are trying to end the political paralysis that has been gripping the country.
Recent Examples on the Web Then in June in New York, a previously healthy man in his 20s was hospitalized with fever and leg paralysis before testing positive for polio. 
Annie Berman, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2022 Not everyone who gets infected with polio experiences paralysis. Andrea Kane, CNN, 20 Aug. 2022 The announcement came three weeks after a man in Rockland County, New York, north of the city, was diagnosed with polio that left him with paralysis. Joseph Goldstein And Sharon Otterman, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2022 About 1 in 200 people who contract poliovirus will present with paralysis as one of their symptoms. Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2022 Before the polio vaccine was introduced in the 1950s, thousands of Americans died in polio outbreaks and tens of thousands, many of them children, were left with paralysis. Sophie Reardon, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2022 Officials said the person had presented with paralysis but wouldn’t say if the patient was still dealing with that side effect. Nancy Cutler, USA TODAY, 21 July 2022 Mono, also called Epstein-Barr Syndrome sometimes, is not associated with facial paralysis. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 June 2022 While not as serious as ingestion, lithium batteries stuck in an ear or nose can cause significant injuries, such as perforation of the nasal septum or the eardrum, hearing loss, or facial nerve paralysis, according to the report. Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 29 Aug. 2022 See More
Annie Berman, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2022 Not everyone who gets infected with polio experiences paralysis. Andrea Kane, CNN, 20 Aug. 2022 The announcement came three weeks after a man in Rockland County, New York, north of the city, was diagnosed with polio that left him with paralysis. Joseph Goldstein And Sharon Otterman, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2022 About 1 in 200 people who contract poliovirus will present with paralysis as one of their symptoms. Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2022 Before the polio vaccine was introduced in the 1950s, thousands of Americans died in polio outbreaks and tens of thousands, many of them children, were left with paralysis. Sophie Reardon, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2022 Officials said the person had presented with paralysis but wouldn’t say if the patient was still dealing with that side effect. Nancy Cutler, USA TODAY, 21 July 2022 Mono, also called Epstein-Barr Syndrome sometimes, is not associated with facial paralysis. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 June 2022 While not as serious as ingestion, lithium batteries stuck in an ear or nose can cause significant injuries, such as perforation of the nasal septum or the eardrum, hearing loss, or facial nerve paralysis, according to the report. Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 29 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin, from Greek, from paralyein to loosen, disable, from para- + lyein to loosen — more at lose
First Known Use
1525, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing paralysis
Kids Definition
paralysis
noun
pa·ral·y·sis pə-ˈra-lə-səs
plural paralyses
-ˌsēz
: loss of the ability to move all or part of the body (as from disease or injury)
Medical Definition
paralysis
noun
pa·ral·y·sis pə-ˈral-ə-səs
plural paralyses -ˌsēz
: complete or partial loss of function especially when involving the power of motion or of sensation in any part of the body see hemiplegia, paraplegia, paresis sense 1
paralysis
noun
as in disability
complete or partial loss of physical function (as motion or sensation) in a part of the body the car accident left one athlete with paralysis from the waist down Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- disability
- impairment
- palsy
- weakness
- poliomyelitis
- debility
- debilitation
- lameness
- feebleness
- paresis
- decrepitude
- hemiplegia
- cerebral palsy
- paraplegia
- infirmity
- quadriplegia
- enfeeblement
- multiple sclerosis
- diplegia
- frailty
- spastic paralysis
- frailness
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- mobility
- sensation
- motility